Saudi Security Official Confirms Arrest of Three Kuwaitis

Published November 11th, 2001 - 02:00 GMT

A Saudi security official Sunday confirmed the arrest of three Kuwaitis, who may be involved in militant activities, but denied reports that the kingd

A Saudi security official Sunday confirmed the arrest of three Kuwaitis, who may be involved in militant activities, but denied reports that the kingdom had broken up cells of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.

Asked about the reported arrest of Kuwaitis linked to Al Qaeda, a "Saudi security source" told the Saudi daily Asharq Al Awsat that three Kuwaitis were being held but it was still not certain if they had "any links (with Al Qaeda)."

The three men were currently being interrogated and had not been charged, the source said without giving further details.

A Saudi opposition spokesman told AFP Friday that four Kuwaiti Islamists had been arrested in Saudi Arabia "at the instigation of the Kuwaiti authorities."

London-based Saad Al Faqih, who heads the Movement for Islamic Reform (MIR), said the four were "known for their sympathies with Islamist militants."

Asharq Al Awsat quoted the Saudi source as denying press reports that the kingdom had broken up Al Qaeda cells.

Al Qaeda is the organization of bin Laden, the Saudi-born militant who is Washington's main suspect in the September 11 terror attacks on the United States that killed thousands. Bin Laden was stripped of his Saudi citizenship in 1994.

"Saudi security authorities interrogate a limited number of individuals about whom there are observations without actually detaining them, and they are released whenever there is no proof (that they committed an offense)," the source said.

This does not necessarily mean that these individuals are linked to Al Qaeda or implicated in the September 11 attacks, he added.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said on October 20 that "a small number of Saudis" had been detained for interrogation about their presumed backing for bin Laden but that they did "not pose a threat to (the kingdom's) security."